Ye Shall Be As Gods
by Unit 667 Ra
Summary: Mai-HiME/Xenogears crossover of doom. The end of an era has come, and the HiME have become lost among legends. But with the meeting of two transmigrated souls comes the revolution of a dying race.
1. Prologue: Natus Glacies

**Title:** Ye Shall Be As Gods  
**Rating:** T  
**Genre:** Spiritual/Sci-Fi  
**Pairing(s):** ShizNat, Takumi/Akira, Mai/Mikoto, etc.  
**Summary:** Mai-HiME/Xenogears crossover of doom. The end of an era has come, and the HiME have become lost among legends. But with the meeting of two transmigrated souls comes the revolution of a dying race.

**Author's Note:** The title is a reference to a phrase used in both Xenogears and Xenosaga. I just thought it sounded cool. Also, this is just a half-assed attempt to combine a cool anime with an epic game, so please don't yell at me if anything feels out of place... or like Disc 2 in 'Gears.

**Disclaimer(s):** Mai-HiME belongs to Sunrise and Xenogears belongs to the bastards at Square. I don't own either, just the MH DVDs. Seriously, guys, am I the only one in the entire fandom who doesn't think the dub is "HOMG SUCKS ASS" like everyone makes it out to be? I mean, Shizuru's dubbed voice actress also did Yohko, and I _liked_ Yohko's English voice. It's not the Hellsing OVAs or Death Note, but come on, you guys, give it a rest already...

* * *

**Prologue: Natus Glacies - One Awoken From the Ice**

_"I am Alpha and Omega,  
The beginning and the end,  
The first and the last."_

* * *

Thunder clapped overhead in a deafening roar, the rain pelting down on his cloak and mask. He brushed these off as if they were a gentle breeze; he had more pressing matters at hand. Namely, the unconscious girl in his arms. She groaned quietly, whether in a dream or the pain wracking her wounded body, he wasn't sure. Her soaked blue-black hair completely veiled her face, so he wouldn't be able to see whatever expression she had anyway.

The man silently thanked whatever divine being watched over him, if there was one at all, when a small, homely village came into view. This place, completely cut off from the rest of the world... it was perfect. He jogged into the hamlet, taking care not to rouse the girl (not yet, they couldn't meet yet), and knocked on the nearest house with his muddy shoe. A moment passed until a tan-skinned old man opened the door, beetle-black eyes widening in shock at these strange visitors.

"Wh-who are you?" he croaked, eyeing the foreigner suspiciously.

"Take care of her," came the gruff but not unkind response.

The old man blinked and stared at the girl in the stranger's arms. The girl was quite young, around fifteen, and her sickly pale skin was a sharp contrast to the black hair that completely masked her face. The elder then realized that her clothes, drenched from the rain, were stained with blood.

"Is she your daughter?" he asked.

The man said nothing. He bent down and whispered something inaudible in the girl's ear, then held her out for the elder to carry. Ignoring the lightness of her body, the elder looked inside for an instant-- an _instant_-- to call for his grandchildren, and when he turned back to face the cloaked stranger, he found that there was no one but the storm and a sick girl to watch over.

* * *

Three days passed, and Chief Lee's granddaughter Alice found herself entering the guest room to check on the girl again.

Now that she was properly cleaned and bandaged, one could see that this mystery youth possessed a startling beauty (not to mention an amazingly toned physique for her age). They had already given her a change of clothes-- a plain white shirt and green pants-- and hopefully it wouldn't be long until she regained consciousness. It would take a while for the rest of the villagers to warm up to her, but Alice and her brother Dan promised to give their new housemate whatever support she needed.

Watching her sleep, Alice reached down to brush a strand of dark hair away from that delicate face when suddenly a pair of the most vibrant green eyes she'd ever seen shot open.

"Ah!" Alice jumped back in shock. Was she conscious the whole time or just now woke up? The thought was pushed out of her mind when she saw those green eyes looking all over the room and then locked onto her gaze. The girl's unblinking stare reminded Alice of an owl.

"Are-are you okay? You've been unconscious for three days straight now..."

The dark-haired girl blinked at her. Whether or not she was, it was hard to tell with that blank look in her eyes.

"I'm Alice," the other girl began, placing a hand on her upper chest. "What's your name?"

This finally seemed to trigger something in the stranger. Eyebrows furrowed together in thought, the girl recalled a voice deep from the corners of her consciousness, whispering something to her that was foreign, but strangely familiar. She parted her lips and uttered in a low, husky voice:

"I... am Natsuki..."

* * *

**OMAKE**

**Natsuki:** The hell is this?

**Ra:** It's the beginning of a Mai-HiME/Xenogears crossover, duh. It's not much, but I've gotta get my writing momentum started somehow.

**Natsuki:** Yeah, I know, but... why am I the main character again? You could've chosen someone else to be Fei Fong Wong, y'know? Why can't I be Billy Lee Black? At least he fights with guns!

**Ra:** As cool as gunslinging priests are, Billy's not as interesting a character as Fei. Besides, considering how Billy tends to be paired with Bartholomew Fatima, would you rather Shizuru play as Bart instead of the lovely Lt. Elhaym van Houten?

**Natsuki:** (_imagines Shizuru with an eyepatch barking orders_) Uh, no thanks.

**Ra:** I thought so.

**Shizuru:** (_dressed in Elly's form-fitting, tiny mini-skirt military uniform_) I must say, this is a little tight across the chest...

**Natsuki:** (_trademark blush_) For God's sake, Shizuru, could they have made that skirt any shorter?!

**Ra:** C'mon, you know you like it. (_grins_)

**Natsuki:** ...


	2. The Valley Where Wind is Born

And we're back! In this installment, we have an upcoming wedding, everyone's favorite doc, the ever nostalgic music box, and a sign of impending doom. Things are gonna heat up come next chapter, so stay tuned for that! (Gawd, I sound like a commercial advert for a TV show...)

**Xenogears tunes for your enjoyment:** My Village is Number One, The Valley Where Wind is Born, Singing of the Gentle Wind, Faraway Promise

**Note(s):** See how original I am, naming the chapter title after a song suggestion?! Eh, guess I was too much of a lazy bastard to think of an original title, but whatever. Also, I'm going to monkey around a little with the original Xenogears storyline so that some certain aspects with fit with the entire HiME cast and not just the two lead characters. Call it a little experiment.

* * *

**Episode I: The Valley Where Wind is Born**

* * *

_Three years later..._

After a while, the village of Lahan had thankfully taken a liking to the stranger Natsuki Kuga, despite their policy to generally stay out of foreign affairs. With Alice, Dan, and their neighbor Timothy as her new friends, Natsuki slowly adapted over time; her sickly pale skin had become slightly tanned from long days of work, and she gradually changed from what some of the villagers called a "blank slate" to a quiet, but outgoing teenager. Natsuki managed to live happily in the village, regardless of her not having any memory of the past fifteen years prior to her arrival. All she knew was her name and, strangely enough, a mastery of martial arts. She was quite popular among the townsfolk (especially the kids and single girls) for her skills in kem po karate, though she preferred reading a good book over wrestling with the guys.

Today, however, wasn't one to be spent with sparring or reading, as the usually sleepy village was positively bustling with activity over tomorrow's grandiose event: Alice and Timothy were getting married. Natsuki and Chief Lee were happy for the two, but Dan wasn't taking it so well, as he was always more fond of Natsuki than his neighbor.

At that moment, while the living room was full of chattering villagers debating finishing touches for the event, Natsuki heard a quick knock on her bedroom door. The girl slipped a bookmark into the novel she was reading and called out, "It's open!"

The door shoved open and the tall, muscular Timothy poked his spiky-haired head in, grinning at his friend.

"Hi, Natsuki!" he said. "Sorry for all of us using your house like this to discuss the wedding. I know you like things peaceful and quiet and all."

"It's okay, I'm actually enjoying it," Natsuki shrugged with a lopsided grin. "So, do you need me for something?"

"Actually, yeah. I came to tell you that Alice wants you."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see his bride before the wedding?"

"Where'd you get that from, those weird old books?" Timothy chuckled good-naturedly. "I swear, you're always so absorbed in those precious books of yours!"

"Hey, maybe I could lend you some of them to read, Tim-- it's good for you!" Natsuki retorted with a playful punch to her friend's shoulder. Timothy had a point, though; her room was crammed with mountains of books.

"Aw, but they're such a pain to carry around! Besides, I didn't necessarily _see_ her; she called me through the window."

Natsuki wanted to tease him some more, but she figured that Timothy's schedule was tight enough already without her heckling him. She just laughed and stood up from her seat, stretching her toned arms.

"Alright, alright, I'll go see what Alice wants. Oh, and I'm looking forward to the ceremony tomorrow, so save some cake for me, will you?"

The two shared a quick chuckle while exiting Natsuki's room. The dark-haired girl overheard Chief Lee mentioning to some villagers that "Natsuki should bring a girlfriend or two home with her once in a while," eliciting a good laugh among them, and was about to voice her embarrassment when suddenly the front door burst open, revealing the red-haired Dan, who literally ran into Natsuki.

"Look out, flying leprechaun!" Timothy cracked, poking fun at Dan's appearance.

"Watch it, Tim, the leprechaun might attack you." Natsuki laughed, ruffling Dan's windblown red hair.

"Oh, shut up!" Dan snapped, glaring at them both. "I wanna talk to Natsuki, but I can't say anything with Timothy standing there..."

"Well, your sister wants to see me about something, so I'm kinda in a hurry, Dan--"

"That's just what we gotta talk about! C'mon, it'll only take a sec!"

Natsuki rolled her eyes at Dan's enthusiasm, but surrendered to his tugging her arm and followed him outside, stopping by the local tavern (after Dan shouted to Timothy, "Until you marry my sister, I've got nothing to do with you!"). Placing both hands on her hips, Natsuki stared the boy down in mock seriousness.

"So what about Alice is so important that you have to kidnap me from my errand?"

Dan shifted uncomfortably. "Natsuki, to be honest... I've always wished you could be my brother."

Natsuki blinked. _Huh?_

"S-so to speak, I mean! Besides, you do act like a guy sometimes!"

"Thanks a lot," Natsuki muttered gruffly, ignoring Dan's '_see what I mean?_'.

"Anyway, it might be odd for me to say this, but my sister's beautiful and a great cook... and just between you and me, she's well-endowed too!" Dan couldn't help but snicker at the strange expression on the dark-haired girl's face. "It's not too late, you know. You could steal Alice and run away with her anytime! If you need me to help, I'd be glad to!"

"Oh, well that's-- wait, what?!" Natsuki gaped at the redhead in shock. "You crazy, Dan?! I can't do that!"

The look of excitement on Dan's face turned into one of disappointment. "Yeah, I know... it's not like we can change her feelings. I guess it still bugs me that she's marrying that muscle head Timothy."

"I understand that, Dan," Natsuki replied. "But Alice agreed to marry Timothy because they love each other. That's the important thing, isn't it?"

The boy nodded. He stared at his feet for a moment before looking back up at Natsuki with a grin.

"Hey, after the wedding, why don't you teach me how to fight? I've been wanting some lessons, but my aunt won't let me 'cause she says I'm too little, so..."

"Sure thing," Natsuki grinned right back at him, ruffling his unkempt hair. "But right now, I have to go and see what Alice wants, so you go do your thing, okay?"

Dan made a noise of affirmation and bolted off to join a pack of children loitering around the drinking well.

* * *

Natsuki, having received permission from Alice's aunt, bounded into her friend's sturdy house. She opened the door to Alice's bedroom, peeked up the small flight of stairs, and spotted the pretty black-haired girl beholding the fruits of her effort. Amidst a small hill of lacy materials, scissors, needles, bobbins, and other sewing paraphernalia stood a gown of white satin, simple yet elegantly ornated with light green floral patterns.

"That looks nice," she announced, shocking the other girl out of her skin.

"Natsuki, you startled me!" Alice greeted her with an almost comical smile, as if her friend's habit of sporadically sneaking up on her was a daily occurence (which, in a sense, it was). She looked back at the dress with an expression of accomplishment. "Yes, I just finished it. It took longer than I expected..."

"I'll bet it did," Natsuki observed, walking over to better examine the dress, "Just look at these designs! If it was me getting married, I'd never be able to finish the damn thing! It'd be easier to wear a suit."

"Aww, I think you'd look wonderful in a wedding gown!" Alice giggled at the flustered look this prompted.

"Yeah, well," the bluenette cleared her throat, "It's going to look great on you tomorrow, Alice... congratulations!"

"Thank you, Natsuki."

The ensuing silence quickly turned awkward. Alice felt her cheeks turn a faint pink as she watched Natsuki bend over slightly to check the dress over, her toned biceps flexing when she placed both fists on her shapely hips (of which the dark green work pants did absolutely no justice, Alice thought to herself). Realizing just what she was thinking about, Alice shook the thought from her mind and tried not to blush any harder.

"So anyway," Natsuki glanced at her casually, "Timothy said you needed me for something?"

"Oh yes, that's right!" Alice thanked the heavens for her friend's memory. "Have you seen Dan anywhere?"

Natsuki blinked. "Yeah, just two minutes ago. He's out by the well with his friends... bragging as always."

"Ugh, that kid!" Alice shook her head at the floor in exasperation. "I just told him I had an errand for him to run!"

"What kind of errand?"

"It's for the wedding ceremony... I was hoping he would go borrow a camera and some lights from Doctor Sugiura."

Natsuki shrugged her well-rounded shoulders (causing another subconscious flush for Alice). "If that's all, I can take care of it. I'm not exactly comfortable with letting Dan handle such delicate instruments, you know? What's more, I might have a chance to have some of Yohko's cooking if I go up to the Doc's place."

Alice laughed, "That's my Natsuki!"

The other girl gave her a salute and walked over to the stairs.

Alice didn't know what possessed her to say, "Oh... Natsuki, wait!"

Natsuki halted just as her head was about to vanish from view and blinked at her in a fashion that was simply adorable. "Huh? Is there something else you need me to get from Midori?"

"N-no, it's not that..." Alice bit her lip and looked back at her dress, only to be reminded that the green patterns were inspired by Natsuki's eyes, which were staring at her in confusion. "Natsuki, have you ever thought of things this way? If... if you had only been born in this village... and if we'd known each other earlier on..."

All the tan-skinned girl did was blink again without any response, reminiscent of her behavior when she first arrived three years ago. Silently chiding herself, Alice regarded her with a smile.

"...Forget about it. It's nothing."

With that, Natsuki shot her a nod and went on her way. Alice walked over to the window and watched her friend's retreating figure head for the mountains. The smile faded from her lips and she looked back at the dress she'd be wearing tomorrow when she'd become a wife. Closing her eyes, Alice saw not the kind face of Timothy, but the enigma with a faraway look, Natsuki.

_Is this fate?_ Alice thought, clutching her heart. _I feel so foolish... who am I kidding?_

* * *

It was a pleasant 45-minute walk from Lahan to Doctor Sugiura's home in the hills. As she crossed the pure, untainted land of the mountains, Natsuki remembered that while Chief Lee was her guardian, Midori Sugiura was her teacher. And technically, it was Midori's companion Yohko Sagisawa who was the doctor, but people often called Midori "Doc" as a good-natured joke aimed at her love for history, gadgets, and gizmos. Under both of their careful toutelage (albeit a slightly more laid-back approach on Midori's behalf), Natsuki became reasonably well-educated in religion, arithmatic, and philosophy; it was also thanks to Yohko that Natsuki had enough books to run a store.

Soon enough, Natsuki encountered the couple's home standing proud and whimsically above her. To some, the house may have looked like something out of a children's book, constructed with enough wood and errant steel platings, with several chimneys poking out from the sides and puffing out globs of smoke, to look like a convoluted mess, but it was probably the homeliest place in the country.

Natsuki knocked on the front door a few times, opting to wait outside and enjoy the scenery until someone answered. The door opened barely a few seconds later and she was greeted with the pale face and wavy dark violet hair of Yohko Sagisawa. The woman, looking around her early to mid-20's, welcomed Natsuki with a quick embrace.

"Natsuki, good to see you!" she said.

"Hey, Yohko," Natsuki replied. "Is Midori around?"

"Yeah, that red-haired geek of mine is monkeying around with something in the garage." Yohko nodded her head in the direction of their (Midori's) workshop; why they called it a garage when they didn't even own a car, nobody knew.

"I should've guessed," Natsuki shrugged. "Doesn't she ever get sick of playing with that stuff?"

"You know Midori, she's the biggest technology buff you'll ever meet. Do you need her for something?"

"Oh, uh, Alice asked me to get a camera and some lights for the wedding tomorrow."

Yohko snapped her fingers. "Oh geez, I think we left that old thing in the cellar! I'm fixing up dinner right now, so you can stick around and help me look for it afterwards."

"Sounds good to me. If it's alright, I think I'll go ahead and look for Midori."

Looking for her wasn't necessary, as a loud explosion seemed to answer Natsuki. The two looked toward the garage and spotted Midori herself hanging on the ledge of the building, the source of the explosion being a large crab-like machine on the roof, emitting black smoke from its exhaust pipes.

"Hot holy hell in a handbasket, that was a close one!" the redhead exclaimed, climbing back up on the roof. "Man, why do they have to use such cheap parts? This is why their invention strat..."

"HEY, MIDORI! IF YOU GET YOURSELF KILLED WITH THAT THING I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" Yohko shouted jokingly.

"D'wah?" Midori looked in their direction and upon noticing her guest waved vigorously, raising her voice to Yohko's level. "HEY, NATSUKI, GREAT TIMING! I FOUND SOMETHING INTERESTING THE OTHER DAY! IT'S IN THE GARAGE, SO TAKE A LOOK AT IT, OKAY!?"

"Um, is it safe for her to work on that contraption?" Natsuki shot Yohko a quizzical look. "What if it explodes again or something?"

"Oh, that was nothing to worry about, it happens all the time." Yohko said this with about as much emotion as one would say, "the toast is ready."

"So, what'd she find that's so interesting, anyway?"

"I'unno," the older woman shrugged. "All I saw was a big yellow box. Midori seems to thing it's cool, though."

"Sure it is!" Midori suddenly popped up, startling the two of them. Her wild red hair was tied up in a high tonytail and her skin, long green tunic, and white pants were stained with soot and oil from the land crab she'd been working on so diligently.

"Hey, sneaking up on people is my gig!" Natsuki protested with a punch to her teacher's arm.

"Aw, c'mon! You wanna see what I found or not? I think you'll like it, Natsuki!"

"Alright, alright," Natsuki sighed. She waved at Yohko while Midori yanked her over to the garage/workshop and opened the door.

"What do you think? Not bad, huh?" Midori smiled.

In the center of the workshop was a decrepit yellow box at least twice Natsuki's height with a rusted ratchet lever near the bottom. Her curiosity peaked, Natsuki kneeled down, and an approving nod from the red-haired quack, turned the lever a few times, stood up and stepped back. After a moment, the box began to rumble gently, slowly opening itself up in the manner of an armoire, revealing a myriad of clockwork gears and two sets of pins surrounding a cylinder, one in each of the box's "doors". In the middle of the opened box was a small statue of a woman clad in a robe, hands over the heart and wings folded at the back, with a small symbol similar to a halo adorning the figure's head.

_An angel_, Natsuki noted, remembering reading about such beings in one of her books.

The twin cylinders began to spin and the pins struck the turning teeth of steel combs, producing a tune. The angel rotated on an axis with the cylinders, emitting a gentle glow.

"It's a music box," Midori explained softly so that she wouldn't have to speak over the melody. "It was excavated from some old ruins and is still under repairs, but I'm surprised how it works like new. Long ago people would listen to this, just as we are now. At times it would've cheered them up... or made them cry. It's very nostalgic, don't you think...?"

Midori glanced over at Natsuki and was surprised by the blank look in those green eyes. Natsuki stood so still and silently, her eyes half-closed and glazed over, as if in a trance. The tune was slow and simple, comforting yet melancholic, and it stirred something within the dark-haired teen. Her heart seemed to beat in rhytmn with each strike of the pins. Within her mind's eye she saw a hazy image of days long past

_A sandbox without toy soldiers  
A wooden swing without laughter  
The scent of wildhoney and dew  
Comforting home and mother's lap_

And was brought back to reality when a voice repeated her name in a concerned mantra, "Natsuki, Natsuki, _Natsuki!_"

"Yeah, what?" Natsuki snapped in mild annoyance. "I think I know my own name, Doc."

Midori looked at her intently, puzzlement apparent in her viridian eyes. "Are you okay, Natsuki? You completely spaced out once the music box started playing..."

"Wuh?" Natsuki blustered, blinking at the redhead as if such a thing never happened. "I... I did?"

"Yeah, you had me worried for a second there... huh? Hey, what's with the water works?"

"What?" Natsuki placed a hand on her face, wondering if that last explosion from the land crab had knocked a few screws loose in Midori's head when she froze. She stared at the droplets on her palm with confusion, her bewilderment only increasing when she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. "Wha... why am I crying...?"

"That's what I want to know," Midori replied, watching the younger girl with an unreadable expression. "Did the music box trigger any memories from your childhood?"

Natsuki blinked again, rubbing the tears away with her knuckles. She could still hear bits and pieces of the tune playing in her mind, nurturing a feeling of warmth in her heart as well as a dull ache. She thought to herself for a moment, letting the tune's melodic subleties sink in. She put a hand over her heart, subconsciously clutching the white cloth of her shirt.

"I don't know. I feel strange when I listen to this music... like I've heard it somewhere before. I feel warm inside, but at the same time it makes me feel... sort of... sad."

The last word came out as a whisper, and Midori couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. Natsuki Kuga, who was hard-working, friendly, and a little on the terse side, looked like a poor little stray abandoned by the unforgiving world around her. For an instant, Midori saw a glimpse of loneliness in those emerald eyes.

_What does Natsuki have to be lonely about?_ Midori thought. _She's surrounded by a devoted guardian and the best friends one could ever ask for... could this be the loneliness of a child who grew up without a mother's love...?_

"Maybe that's because there's something that sleeps deep inside you," said Midori, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder. "And that she too must have enjoyed this music a long time ago."

"Something inside me, huh..." Natsuki eyed the turning statue, trying to picture the angel as a mother or father, probably to take some solace in what little she could imagine.

Midori gave her shoulder a comforting pat. "I'm sure it'll all come back to you someday, Natsuki. Now why don't you stay for dinner tonight? I think it'll make you feel better."

"Would I ever! I was hoping you would ask." Natsuki looked at her with a much brighter expression that would have thrown anyone else for a loop, but Midori could still see some sadness in her eyes.

"Alright, then! I've still got some cleaning up to do around here, so would you mind giving Yohko a hand back at the house?"

"Okay. Take your time, Doc. I'll be sure to eat when dinner's ready!"

"Haha! Go ahead, but I won't be held responsible if you get a stomachache from eating too much!"

Laughing heartily, Natsuki made her way back to the house. Midori watched her enter the kitchen doorway, then rubbed her chin in thought.

She mumbled to herself, "It might actually be better for her to live an ordinary life in her condition..." A moment of silence passed, then she composed herself to finish things up. "Well! In any case, I better adjust that one gyro at least..."

She had just grabbed a nearby wrench and was about to walk out to work on the land crab when something reached her ears. Looking over her shoulder, Midori found that the angel's rotation had become strained, the tune growing slow and distorted.

Suddenly a loud crack cut off both the music and the angel's head.

At first Midori thought this was because it was so long since the music box had been played, but then the rest of the statue began to rumble violently until the ornament burst in an explosion of white marble. With a yell of surprise, Midori shielded herself from the flying shards with her arm. She looked at the angel's head lying on the dusty floor, staring right back at her, and a feeling of dread welled up in the pit of her stomach. For the first time in her life, Midori could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

"Wha-what..." she stammered, trying to calm herself. "Is this an omen...?"

_...Now, what is going to happen...?_

* * *

**OMAKE**

Shizuru: ...

Ra: Whuh-oh.

Natsuki: Um, Shizuru?

Shizuru: (_stabs finger at the screen_) Who is this Alice woman?

Natsuki: Who, Alice? She's an NPC in the game. I don't think she has a major role, though.

Shizuru: It seems like she has certain feelings for the main character, does she not?

Natsuki: Uh... yeah?

(_Shizuru smacks Natsuki upside the head._)

Midori: That looked like it hurt.

Ra: Aw, dude, that's gonna sting...

Natsuki: What the hell was that for?!

Shizuru: I thought we had something special!

Natsuki: We do! Alice is just a minor character, anyway! C'mon, author, help me out here!

Ra: Don't go dragging me into this!


	3. Weltall, the Black Gear

Like I said last time, things are heating up this time around. A battalion of Gears start a skirmish in the middle of Lahan, Natsuki pilots a mysterious black Gear, and a sudden emotional trauma causes something within her to awaken. Soon after, a chance meeting between our two favorite HiME in the Blackmoon Forest!

**Xenogears tunes for your enjoyment:** Knight of Fire, The Steel Giant, Tears of the Stars, Hearts of the People; Emotions, Forest of the Black Moon

* * *

**Episode II: Weltall, the Black Gear**

* * *

A small battalion of them soared through the night sky like birds, but there was nothing bird-like about them. Rather, they were more humanoid in shape; they were Gears, mechanized giants flying off to war. Two in particular, one more sleek and aerodynamic than the other, led the pack. Another group of Gears rocketed behind them in hot pursuit, brandishing their weapons.

In the alpha's cockpit, a pair of inquisitive red eyes glanced at the radar, her grip tightening on the controls in mild displeasure.

_So they're not going to let us go, are they? Even after we've entered Aveh territory... what a stubborn bunch they are._

One of the beta Gears flew up to her level in an attempt to keep up, but was suddenly shot down from a round fired by the enemy. The explosion violently rocked the alpha Gear, and its pilot had to keep from bashing her head against the console. One opposing Gear came up on the monitor, and the pilot nearly swore at the sight of its weapon-- an AG36 grenade launcher mounted to a G36KV carbine.

_It's actually equipped with an AG36? They can't be serious...!_ Her thoughts trailed off when a little warning siren blared and her Gear's damage status flashed on the screen. The voice belonging to her fellow alpha barked into an open channel.

"_Lieutenant Fujino! Are you alright? Respond!_"

"There's shrapnel in my back from the explosion," she complied. "Thruster's output is dropping. Cannot maintain altitude..."

Thankfully, she had enough output left to barrel roll out of the enemy's line of fire, barely dodging another grenade. Another of her troops wasn't so quick to react, however, as the grenade lodged itself into his Gear's abdomen. The pilot didn't even have time to scream when his Gear imploded in a fantastical orgy of fire, smoke, and debris.

"_Hornst!!_" the voice hollered angrily. "_That stupid kid... damn it! Everyone land now and regroup on the ground! We'll have to engage them!_"

"_Roger!_" came the battalion's reply, and the remaining Gears dived in well-practiced synchronization down to the unsuspecting earth below. Despite the rapidly dropping energy reserves, Lieutenant Fujino strained her muscles against the controls in a struggle to stay with the group and not crash into the mountainside.

She was so distracted by her duty as a soldier that she didn't even notice a lone person walking down the path leading to the village they were landing in.

* * *

Natsuki, having left Midori and Yohko's home, had to dive to the ground to avoid being mowed down by the mechanized giants flying right above her head. She looked up and watched in fascination as the small fleet descend down the mountain, one of which was smoking from the back. They landed with a rumble as gracefully as they could... right beside Lahan!

_Giants...? What're they doing here??_ Her interest in these foreign objects was cut short when a familiar cry came from the bridge behind her.

"Natsuki!!" It was Midori, jogging right towards her just as she stood back up. "Are you okay, Natsuki?"

"I'm fine, doc, but we've got bigger things to worry about; some flying objects just went toward Lahan!"

"Damn, so you saw them too?! They must be a group of Gears from our neighboring country Kislev..." Midori grimaced and gripped Natsuki's shoulder. "We have to hurry. Who knows what'll happen to Lahan if those Gears start a battle."

* * *

What happened was that Lahan was almost completely engulfed in flames. The two groups of Gears stood on either side of the village; one group was firing at the other with quick, accurate bursts, seemingly taking care not to damage the buildings or step on any passing civilians. The opposing Gears didn't appear as careful, recklessly firing without acknowledging the destruction they caused. Natsuki noticed the one damaged Gear she spotted earlier was kneeling in a field on the outskirts of Lahan, completely immobile, with no sign of the pilot. Midori found two familiar shapes looking around the village frantically.

"Alice! Timothy!" she hollered, running towards them with Natsuki in tow.

"You guys okay?" Natsuki glanced between the two, relieved to find they were unharmed.

"Yeah, we're fine," the normally good-natured Timothy looked positively furious at the chaos ensuing behind them. "But what I want to know is why these... _things_ just landed in our village! Even worse, we can't find Dan anywhere!"

Alice was close to tears. "I know we have to help evacuate the rest of the villagers, but I just can't leave him behind..."

"Alice," Timothy held her shoulders and looked her in the eye, "You go ahead and get out of here. I'll go look for him one more time."

"No way! What if you get hurt?! It's too risky!"

Midori pushed the two apart. "That's enough! I know how you feel, but leave the rest to Natsuki and I! We'll find Dan, I promise. Timothy-- look at me, Tim!-- it's your responsibility to protect your bride above all!"

Timothy blinked and looked at Alice, feeling torn. He wanted to protect her of course, but he couldn't bear to leave his future brother-in-law behind. "...But I..."

"Hey," said Natsuki, "Midori's right. You two get out of here now, and don't worry about Dan. Knowing him, he's probably already evacuated and is waiting for you."

After a moment, Timothy nodded his head. "I guess you're right. I'm counting on you two-- just keep an eye out for Dan!"

"We will, we will! Now both of you, hurry!" Midori half-shouted, motioning them to leave before things got worse. They did, although Alice hesitated a bit to give one last glance at Natsuki before joining her betrothed. Midori turned to Natsuki and said, "I'll check the buildings for any survivors. You go around and guide any stragglers to a safe location!"

Natsuki nodded. "Alright. But doc, you be careful, okay!?"

"You too, Natsuki!"

With that, the two separated. While Midori kicked down the door to one burning house, Natsuki zigzagged across the village in search of any survivors while trying not to get gunned down in the process. A stray bullet just barely missed the blunette's head, grazing against her left cheek, and Natsuki instinctively dove for cover. Amidst thoughts of "Why is this happening?" and "Will everyone make it out okay?" was a desire to fight back, to force these monsters back to which they came. That was when she discovered _it_.

A lone black Gear, unscathed by the surrounding chaos, kneeling before her. It was smaller than the others battling around it and had a slender frame, but it seemed to have an undeniable aura of power emanating from it. Its cockpit was left open, and at its feet was the lifeless body of a soldier. The Gear seemed to watch her, its right arm resting on the ground looked unnaturally enticing.

_What am I thinking?_ Natsuki thought, swallowing a lump in her throat. _I can't possibly ride in that thing... but wait-- the rest of these Gears... if I only had enough power, I could..._ Natsuki's heart throbbed in her throat when she realized the cockpit was empty, but then

_A pendant flashed--_

She stopped. Squinting her eyes, Natsuki crept up to get a closer look and saw a small, unconscious figure sitting in the cockpit. _A child_. A long mane of unkempt black hair covered her eyes, and Natsuki was about to call out for the figure when

_Another flash, the pendant twisting in its pendulum swing--_

The figure's lips snaked into a sneer, a quick chuckle escaping her throat, childish and mocking, sinister and menacing.

Natsuki blinked several times, and with a gasp, she found the cockpit to be completely empty. No child in sight. Her heart pounding, she recalled the child's sneer, and something came over her. Clenching her fists, she strode up to the Gear's inviting hand.

Meanwhile, Midori had just exited the building with no luck when she spotted Natsuki leaping into the cockpit of a black Gear. The chest cavity shut itself, and with a low vibration, the black Gear shifted itself into an erect standing position. The head scanned the area and locked onto the nearest Gears. Midori's blood ran cold.

"Wait, Natsuki!" she screamed in an attempt to get her student's attention. "Don't do it, Natsuki! You can't fight here!! NATSUKI!!"

But her cries fell on deaf ears. Natsuki's mind had shut off, and every action she took was a complete, instinctive reflex. Her blank eyes stared at the screen as the system booted up.

**...XafbEWfadJZ... Linguistic Modifier enabled.  
Identified: Lamb, Ignas dialect. No piloting experience. Easy Mode set.  
Synchronizing input interface with pilot's normal reflex time.  
Warning to Pilot: COMBAT MODE. About to enter combat! 1200 units of fuel left.  
WARNING! Enemy Gears are now preparing to attack! Terminating Help Mode!**

Natsuki grabbed the controls and kicked the ignition, charging into the battle.

Midori watched on as the black Gear engaged its opponents, fighting with nearly flawless grace and strength. Had the pilot been someone else, she would've been fascinated at their mastery of piloting a Gear with such a unique combat style, but this was _Natsuki_ fighting. The girl had absolutely no memory of her life prior to living in Lahan, so how could she control such a complex machine on her first time...?

_The way she's fighting..._ Midori's thoughts turned to the angel's head in her garage for a split second, and she shuddered. _Oh no... This isn't good! If 'she' awakens here, then...!_

"Doc!"

The redhead flipped around and spotted Dan looking at her from the doorway to his home. Even when she ran towards him in relief, the boy seemed oddly reluctant to leave the house.

"Dan, thank goodness I found you!" Midori gasped, kneeling down to his level. "What on earth are you doing here?! Do you know how worried Alice and Timothy are?!"

Dan looked up at her with apologetic coal-black eyes. "I'm sorry, Doctor Sugiura! I left with Auntie earlier, but... I came back because I... well..." He opened the door fully, revealing a white satin gown neatly folded in his arms.

"You came back for your sister's wedding dress?" Midori stared at him for a moment until breaking into a smile. "...I see. You really are a sentimental boy, Dan."

A sudden crash brought the two back to the situation at hand; the black Gear had countered one opponent's assault with a roundhouse kick and followed it up with two punches to the abdominal section, where the ribs would be if it were a person. It was a technique Midori herself had taught Natsuki some time ago. Eyes narrowing, Midori turned back to the dumbfounded boy beside her.

"Come on, Dan, we'd better get to safety while Natsuki has their attention! It appears they're after that black Gear she's piloting..."

"What?!" Dan gaped. "No way... Natsuki's inside that monster?!"

Midori nodded gravely, glancing at the Gear one more time before leading Dan out of the burning village.

_Natsuki... is bound by the dark, cruel destiny of God..._

Suddenly Timothy's figure burst out of the darkness a good distance away from them. He looked around and lit up when he found Midori and Dan, waving at them frantically.

"Dan! I knew you were still here!" he shouted. "Boy, am I glad to see you in one piece!"

Dan was about to voice the same when a Gear landed right behind his future brother-in-law, and his face turned white as a sheet.

"TIMOTHY, BEHIND YOU!" he screamed.

Timothy froze in place. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder at the giant staring him down and felt terror course through his veins.

* * *

"_TIMOTHY, BEHIND YOU!_"

The voice coming through an open channel snapped Natsuki back to reality. Looking past her enemies she found Timothy pinned down by a stray Gear, an insect compared to the monster before him. Panic overcame Natsuki and she scrambled with the controls, trying to open a communications line to the lone Gear (though she didn't undersand how she knew what to do).

"Wait! Don't shoot!" she hollered at the Gear. "Stop it, these people have nothing to do with you!"

When she received no answer, Natsuki cursed under her breath and ran to take it out before it fired, but two others grabbed her Gear by the arms and restrained her with an iron grip. Natsuki growled and strained against the controls, struggling in vain to break free and save her friend.

"Let me go, you bastards! Stop it! I SAID STOP IT!!"

The lone Gear seemed to glance back at its sinister leader, as if requesting permission. The alpha Gear signalled its approval with a wave of its hand. With that, the Gear turned back to Timothy, aimed its gun, and fired. The life returning to his legs, Timothy scrambled to escape only for a single bullet to pierce into his chest, sweeping him off his feet and nearly flipping backwards to the ground with a strangled scream, his blood splattering across the grass.

Natsuki's face ashened from the shock and something deep inside her snapped

_The pendant swings--_

Clawing its way to the surface with animalistic fury

_A wide-eyed girl's face sullied with dirt and blood--_

Breaking through the cage of her consciousness

_Swings like a pendulum swings--_

Dragging her down into the abyss, kicking and screaming

"Gaaaahhhh--!"

_A girl's face veiled by black hair with her mouth in a sneer and a cruel giggle--_

She slumped over, strands of her blue hair slipping from her ponytail and covering her eyes. Her muscles tensed, twitching violently, and relaxed. She sat upright in her seat, lips in a sneer, and gave a short, breathy chuckle. The black Gear convulsed against its captors and a massive amount of energy dispersed from within it, setting the surrounding Gears ablaze and crushing the burning houses and straggling villagers in a colossal explosion that lit up the area and vanished like an eclipse.

* * *

Natsuki opened her eyes and was promptly blinded by the morning sunshine. _Ow, my head..._ Shielding her eyes with a hand, she squinted around and found herself on the ground, just below the black Gear kneeling above her like it was with that fallen soldier the night before.

The night before-!?

_Oh God, what happened?!_

"Natsuki," Midori's voice came from behind, startling her. Yohko stood behind her, looking unsure of herself. "You've finally regained consciousness..."

Natsuki jumped to her feet, disregarding the lightheadedness this caused, and grabbed the front of Midori's green shirt. "Midori, what happened?! Where's Chief Lee, Timothy, Alice?! What did I...?!"

Midori avoided her gaze uncomfortably. "Um... well, about that..."

"YOU MURDERER!!"

Natsuki turned at the source of the voice and saw a small group of villagers huddled up together, positively scared out of their minds. The shout had come from Dan. The boy was looking at her with such anger and hatred that he almost looked like a different person. She couldn't ignore the feeling of dread welling up inside her.

"Murderer...? Dan, what do you mean?" she asked, taking a few steps toward him.

"Stay away!" he nearly shrieked, causing her to flinch. He glowered at her and averted his gaze to the ground. "It's all because you had to go and get in that monster! Alice and Timothy... and the rest of the villagers...!" Dan shot back up with tears staining his flustered cheeks. "You killed everyone using that monster!!"

Natsuki's heart stopped. She opened her mouth to say something, but her voice died in her throat. She looked at the Gear, which seemed to lock its gaze with hers until she broke away to seek the remains of Lahan. It was pretty hard to miss, considering all that was left was a massive crater. She could hear the villagers talking among themselves behind her back, some directed at her.

"Why did you have to fight in the middle of the village?!"

"How do you even know how to operate that monster?"

"Mommy...? Where's Mommy...?"

"See, I told you so... I said allowing someone we know nothing about into our village would spell disaster..."

"Ouch... It hurts... hurts..."

_No_, Natsuki reasoned with herself, _there has to be some kind of mistake! I'd never do such a terrible thing! I never..._

"Dan!" she started, walking toward the boy again. The survivors collectively backed away in fear, looking at her as if she were a beast.

"You murderer!" Dan snarled. "My sister... give me back my sister!"

"Dan, calm down!" Yohko interjected, stepping between him and Natsuki. "There's nothing to be gained from putting all the blame on Natsuki! What's more, you know she had no control over that Gear's malfunction!"

"I-I know that!" Dan snapped. "But... but...!" He looked back at Natsuki, scowling until his scrunched up face was no longer recognizable. "I HATE YOU!!"

Before anyone could stop him, Dan dashed away from the group with a burst of tears. Natsuki was completely at a loss. She stared at her feet, the enormity of her actions weighing down on her shoulders.

"Hey," Yohko whispered to Midori, "It might be better to leave Dan alone for a while. He doesn't know what to do with all his grief and anger... you know?"

"Right," Midori muttered back. She regarded the blunette with a sympathetic look. "Natsuki?"

Natsuki brought her head back up. "What...?"

"I think it's a good idea for you to leave this place," said Midori. "There's no guarantee that reinforcements from last night's unit won't come to check things out and see what happened to their comrades. And if you do stay here, the atmosphere isn't going to be a joyful one, you see... it's probably for the best."

Natsuki slowly blinked twice as she thought this over. "I guess you're right... This whole thing happened because I... but what am I supposed to do now?"

"Well... why not go through Blackmoon Forest and head for Aveh? I'm sure those soldiers weren't natives of Aveh, and they won't be able to track you if you make it there."

Natsuki nodded silently. She looked back up at the Gear, and Dan's words echoed in her mind.

_You killed everyone with that monster! You murderer! My sister... give me back my sister!_

"Gh...!" Natsuki bit her lip and forced back any tears. Breaking off eye contact with the black Gear, she jumped off the hill and walked briskly to the northern Blackmoon Forest. From the black Gear's position, it seemed to watch its pilot depart like someone abandoned by their best friend.

* * *

There was a reason why it was called Blackmoon Forest. The great trees were so close together that the tops seemed to block out all light from the sun and moon, so traveling by evening was nearly impossible. Natsuki didn't seem to care, though, even when her pants were getting torn up from surrounding thorn brushes. She felt as if there was no hope for her; she destroyed her home with her own hands and had no one to turn to. She was alone now in the unforgiving world, and maybe a surviving soldier was hiding in the vegetation waiting to take revenge for the deaths of his comrades.

Natsuki almost gave a hollow laugh at the thought and jumped onto the trunk of a large, fallen tree.

"_Ana haus!_"

Natsuki stopped dead in her tracks, then looked over her shoulder. Standing behind her was a sight that made her heart skip a beat.

It was quite possibly the most beautiful woman she'd ever laid eyes on. She looked to be around Natsuki's age, maybe a little older, and was clad in a black and white uniform of some sort that seemed to accentuate her curvaceous physique. Natsuki eyed every inch of her body, from the long, slender legs to the shapely hips, thin waist, the swell of her bosom, and the chestnut brown hair cascading down her shoulders in light waves, framing a pale and beautiful face. The woman's startling crimson eyes stared her down with an air of elegance and hostility as she aimed a gun at her.

"_Kah te nye?_" she spoke in a strange language that was gutteral, powerful, and commanding. "_Ta, tah dyne tuna ahk va! Dah noul raun tak. Rahna koute!_"

The woman blinked several times in realization that Natsuki didn't know what the god-given hell she was saying, then spoke to her in the common tongue, her melodic voice laced with a thick accent.

"Throw down your weapon. Make one wrong move and I'll shoot."

* * *

**Glossary/The More You Know!:**

_Gear:_ Think of them as relatives to Gundams or Arm Slaves from Full Metal Panic!. Kind of.

_Weltall:_ Pronounced "Velt-all," with a very slight pause between "Velt" and "-all". Its svelte, but powerful frame makes it an ideal Gear for swift, close-ranged combat. For those who never played the game, Weltall is a significantly important Gear, but that kinda goes without saying.

_AG36:_ A grenade launcher developed by German manufacturer Heckler & Koch. The "36" in its name refers to the primary weapon it was designed - the G36 5.56 mm assault rifle. The rifle used in this chapter was a Latvian G36KV carbine.

_The Kingdom of Aveh:_ Lying in the Southern Ignas Desert, Aveh is currently at war with the Kislev Empire to the North. Aveh was founded in the year 9499-ish by Roni Fatima, about 500 years prior to the story. Aveh nearly lost the war, but an offer made by the Gebler Military Force helped change the tide of battle.

_The Kislev Empire:_ A sprawling empire in Northern Ignas, Kislev has been at war with Aveh for several hundred years, but recently obtained the upper hand when valuable resources were found in the ruins within Kislev's border. The capital of Kislev is the metropolis Nortune.


	4. Encounter Under the Black Moon

Hhokay. So. I wanted to get this out sooner, but I've been distracted with college and Persona 3 FES (unhealthily addicting, srsly). That, and I've been conjuring up some ways to incorporate Mai-HiME elements into the story. I think I already mentioned that in one of the earlier chapters, didn't I? Whatever. Anyways, enjoy the silly crossover fic.

Note: The hand-to-hand style Shizuru uses in this chapter is based off Krav Maga, a combat system developed in Israel.

**Xenogears tunes for your enjoyment:** Forest of the Black Moon, Shattering Egg of Dreams, Stage of Death

**Episode III: Encounter Under the Black Moon**

* * *

Lieutenant Fujino eyed the youth suspiciously while putting on a mask of cold professionalism. The girl didn't look much older than eighteen (probably a year her junior) and appeared harmless, but her toned arms and the scratch on her left cheek suggested otherwise. Oddly enough, for an instant, she could have sworn she saw this girl somewhere before... but this of course was impossible; nobody from her homeland had green eyes or blue hair, and besides, she never met anyone quite like this one before in her life. All the same, she still couldn't shake that strangely nostalgic feeling in the back of her mind. It was only when the girl turned her head to face her completely when the brunette snapped to attention.

"Turn around," she ordered sharply.

The girl seemed to flinch, but complied. Fujino slowly approached her, still aiming her 9mm at the stranger, and ordered for her to get down on her knees. She complied. At least this girl was cooperative. Fujino examined her clothing for a moment.

"You don't look like one of the Kislev soldiers, but..."

The bluenette craned her neck around to address her, but Fujino, never one to take any chances, plunged and wrestled the girl down. She grabbed her wrists in her right hand and held them back in a position that would potentially break the girl's arms if she struggled too much, and jabbed the gun in her left into the back of the girl's head when she let out a yelp.

"Don't move! I have orders to kill all surface dwellers, Lambs, I come in contact with. Nothing personal, but it's part of my mission." Fujino paused for two seconds before asking, "Tell me... how do I get out of this forest?"

There was another pause until the girl replied in a deep, husky voice strained from their positioning, "Are you lost?"

"I am the one asking questions here. How do I get out of here and find the nearest town?"

The girl seemed to look down sadly. "Sorry, but I'm looking for the way out too."

Fujino blinked at this and sighed. Releasing the girl and swinging the pistol down to her side, she stared up at the trees and pondered to herself, _What am I to do now...?_ The blue-haired Lamb looked up at her with an unreadable facial expression.

"How long are you going to stand there? If you're going to shoot me, hurry up and do it."

Fujino looked at her incredulously, exclaiming, "What an odd thing to say! Do you not understand the situation you're in?"

"I don't care about my situation... my life is worthless... there's no point in me living, anyway."

There was an odd sense of pain in her voice, one that sent a chill down the Lieutenant's spine. _Who _is_ this person?_ Fujino raised the 9mm back up again when the Lamb stood up and faced her. Aiming at her face, Fujino warningly shifted the safety off, but this didn't deter the Lamb at all. The girl took a step forward, and she responded with an instinctive squeeze of the trigger, the pistol firing with a loud crack. The Lamb flinched again and shut her eyes tightly, as if bracing for a bullet to hit, but the round shot right past her head. She opened her vibrant green eyes, shaking from head to toe, and appeared to Fujino like a frightened animal. The girl slowly turned her head around to look in the direction of the bullet's path and found a tree some distance away with a circle of bark blasted right off. Then, as if the situation couldn't get any stranger, the girl whirled back around and gave Fujino an angry, almost desperate look.

"What are you doing?!" she half-shouted, pointing a finger between her eyes. "Aim here! Shoot me _here!_ Come on, kill me! _Kill me!_"

Fujino had to stop her jaw from dropping. "Are-are you mocking me? Something must be wrong with you-- you should at least resist a little bit!"

The girl barked a hollow laugh. "Why should I resist? You're the one with orders to kill anyone you come in contact with, so what's stopping you?!"

By now the Lamb had moved close enough that they were within arm's reach of each other. Fujino raised her gun again, the barrel pushing into the Lamb's chin and tilting her head upward slightly. If she was trying to scare off this strange land-dweller, it clearly wasn't working. The girl's expression changed from anger to a more pleading one.

"Please... just shoot me already," she said quietly.

Fujino pursed her lips together in thought and responded in a softer tone, but still retaining a militaristic edge, "Give me one good reason why I should, and I will consider it. I am a soldier, but I do not rampantly murder civilians."

For some reason, this seemed to strike a chord within the Lamb. She looked at her defiantly and apparently wanted to make a snide retort, but a sudden rustling from the branches above them cut her off. Before either of them knew it, a massive ape-like forest elf landed right behind Fujino and charged at them. Thinking back to her close quarters combat training, Fujino rammed her elbow into the side of the beast's face and followed it up with another elbow strike to the back of its neck. The Lamb could only look on as the forest elf recovered from the blows and took a swing at Fujino, who jumped to the side and grabbed a hold of the fur across its neck with one hand and grasping the back of its arm with the other. Using the struggling monster's own weight to her advantage, she propelled the elf to collapse into her outstretched knee, driving it into the creature's midsection.

The forest elf howled in pain and was answered by a loud, guttural roar above them. A second forest elf, this one quite larger than the one grappling with Fujino lept down from the trees and bared its fangs at the brunette. Fujino almost cursed under her breath; she was in a position where she couldn't release this one to attack the other without being struck from behind. The elf ran at her on all fours and she struggled to move her current opponent so that it could be used as a makeshift shield.

Seeing the danger her would-be captor was in, the Lamb disregarded everything else and bolted at the bigger forest elf, blindly shouting, "Stop! Keep your hands off Shizuru!"

Fujino's red eyes widened in shock. _How did she know my name...!?_ She was so baffled by this that she didn't even notice the forest elf had wrestled itself free and bashed its arm into her head, knocking her out cold.

* * *

Natsuki stared into the small campfire she'd made, trying to avoid looking at the strange brunette propped against a nearby log. After the fight, Natsuki had used the brunette's first aid kit to bandage up her wound. Speaking of which, what was wrong with her? Acting so strangely to someone she just met... well, granted, the woman had probably intended to kill her, but how did she know the woman's name in the first place? And for that matter, how did she know "Shizuru" was her real name? All she knew for certain was that the brunette was one of those soldiers who invaded her home and... Natsuki squeezed her eyes shut. _No, don't think about it._ She curled herself into a tight ball, fingers digging into her scalp and hiding her face in her knees. A whimper escaped her throat when she recalled the villagers' terrified looks and Dan's hateful words.

_Murderer..._

A soft groan caught her attention and she looked up, seeing the brunette sitting up and rubbing a hand against her head.

"Hey, you finally woke up," Natsuki said rather casually, as if they were reunited childhood friends. "You weren't moving for a while, so I started to worry..."

The woman regarded her silently with unblinking red eyes. Her posture seemed almost guarded, ready for anything this strange blue-haired girl would try to pull.

"How are you feeling?" Natsuki asked.

The woman said nothing.

"Do you still intend to kill me? If you are, then go right ahead and shoot me. Although, it might not be a good idea to go shooting that thing all over the place after what happened. Forest creatures hate loud noises, you know?"

The woman remained silent, not once breaking eye contact with her. Natsuki sighed.

"Fine. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. But it wouldn't kill you to thank me for treating your wound."

The brunette blinked and patted the bandage wrapped around her head. She looked at Natsuki, eyebrows furrowed rather quizzically.

"Thank you," she said. "But don't think that helping me will save your life. It really doesn't change a thing."

"What are you so afraid of?"

"I am not afraid... merely cautious. It's a natural response, considering I've met such a suspicious land-dwelling Lamb."

Natsuki looked thoughtful. "Hm... well, I won't pull anything funny, so you don't have to worry about that." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Besides, you're a lot more suspicious than me."

The brunette raised an eyebrow at that, but chose not to ask about it.

"So um, what's your name?"

"I do not give my name to Lambs."

Natsuki rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "What is it with you and this 'Lamb' thing? Look, we're both stuck in a dangerous forest with no idea where the hell we're going! Shouldn't we at least be cooperating until we get outta here?"

The red-eyed woman smiled wryly. "You have a point there. I suppose it would be difficult to cooperate with each other without knowing our names... however, it seems you already know my name." _I should be bothered by this, but it doesn't feel unnatural..._

"Oh, um, I uh..." Natsuki stuttered, a light pink appearing on her checks. "I-I guess it's 'cause you kinda _look_ like a Shizuru, with the brown hair and red eyes... yeah, that's it..."

Shizuru raised an eyebrow, amused by the girl's adorably flustered expression. "It's quite all right, Shizuru is my name. Lieutenant Shizuru Fujino."

"Uh, I'm Natsuki Kuga."

* * *

The next morning came early, thanks to Natsuki's empty stomach. She hadn't eaten since the other night, and thankfully Shizuru had a few emergency rations left over. If that wasn't enough to satisfy her, Shizuru had suggested they could go look for food the old-fashioned way, and grabbed a hunting knife from her pack. Natsuki was still new to the ways of the outside world, so the idea of eating something nearly twice her size, no matter how hungry she got, didn't really appeal to her. Besides, she wasn't in the mood to attract more forest elves this early in the morning, and the big hairy things looked kind of gamy, anyway.

The two made their way through the forest in silence. It felt awkward to Natsuki, as she was stuck with a soldier who probably wasn't interested in small talk. The only real comment Shizuru had made for a while was that moss grew on the north side of trees, after Natsuki watched her inspect several trees. Upon asking her how she knew this, Shizuru simply replied that her commanding officer gave her unit a lecture called "Survival for Dumbasses." Natsuki decided to keep her mouth shut for a while, at the risk of sounding like the dumbass that lecture was made for.

Contrary to what Natsuki thought about Shizuru, something was bothering the young lieutenant. The blunette's pained words from yesterday bothered her, and while it was against her better judgment, she couldn't help but feel curious as to why Natsuki would say such things. Once they both agreed to take a short break, Shizuru gave her a look.

"Natsuki-han, yesterday you said your life was worthless. What did you mean by that?"

Natsuki's expression suddenly turned grave. "Why... why do you ask?'

"Because you looked as if you had a death wish. Do you think I wouldn't wonder about that? And for that matter, how did you get stranded in this forest to begin with?"

The look of despair on Natsuki's face nearly made Shizuru regret asking. Natsuki leaned against a tree and grasped her left arm.

"I... I ran away from my village. Or what's left of it, at least." She didn't notice Shizuru's complexion turning pale.

_Village? Don't tell me..._

"Lahan..." For a moment, Natsuki smiled solemnly. "It was a small village that lied between this forest and the mountain range. It was a nice, peaceful place. I wasn't a native to Lahan, but everyone there treated me like family."

_...**that** village...?_

The bittersweet smile turned into a frown of anger. "But then a bunch of Gears came out of nowhere and started fighting in the middle of the place. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing while my home was getting burned down! So I climbed into this empty black Gear, even though I didn't know how to operate it. I thought I could do it... no, it felt like something was whispering to me, telling me. _'Get in the Gear. Get in the Gear. If you want these bastards to leave, then get in the damn Gear.'_ So I did, but... it was a disaster! My home...!"

_That... black Gear..._ "Was Lahan destroyed by the Kislev army?"

Natsuki didn't answer at first; she hung her head low and tightened her grip on her arm. "No," the blue-haired girl's voice was cracking slightly. "Lahan was destroyed... by _me._"

_...What?!_

"Yes. It was me. I destroyed the village, I'm sure of it." By now, Natsuki seemed to be talking more to herself than Shizuru.

"Wh-what do you mean you destroyed it?" Shizuru demanded, completely baffled by her companion's words. "Weren't you trying to help save the villagers?"

"I _did_ try to help! I actually took out a few Gears! But I got cornered by a new unit, and then my best friend... Timothy... he got shot down, and I think I lost it, I just _lost it_. Everything went dark after that, and the next thing I knew, Lahan was nothing but a crater. Doc said the Gear just went out of control. A malfunction. But everyone was... Alice... she was so kind, the kindest girl I knew... she and Timothy were supposed to get married... and Dan... oh, God! Everyone... they were all such good people..."

_And I killed them all._

"But how could that black Gear go out of control just like that?"

_No, wait... the Gear..._

Natsuki's head jerked up, her attitude changing from depression to rage far too quickly to be considered normal. "Yes, the Gear! If only those Gears hadn't landed in the village and started fighting, I never would've tried to pilot that thing! It's all their fault, not mine! If they hadn't come... none of this would've... if not for them!" Her face contorted in rage, Natsuki began to pound her fist against the tree. "Them! Them! THEM!!"

"That's enough!" the normally soft-spoken Shizuru yelled. Before Natsuki knew it, Shizuru grabbed a fistfull of her shirt and pulled her around to look her in the eye. "You're a coward!" Shizuru growled.

Natsuki looked at the brunette, her expression once again changing from anger to confusion on a dime. "A coward...?"

"Yes, a coward! All you're saying is 'them, them, them'. Do not talk as if you had no part in the blame!"

"I'm to blame...?"

"Of course, the direct cause of the battle was that a Gear made an emergency landing in your village. All Kislev wanted was that black Gear we had at the time, they were not out to destroy Lahan. The real damage occurred because _you_ climbed into that Gear and tried to fight back!"

Realization dawned on Natsuki, and she looked down at her calloused hands. "I..."

"What in the world possessed you to get into that Gear? Not just anyone can pilot them; it takes years of training! A civilian like yourself couldn't hope to pilot one! How can you use a Gear as a scapegoat when it was your decision to fight in the first place instead of helping the villagers evacuate? Why don't you take some of the responsibility rather than putting all the blame on others? Running away from the problem is what makes you a coward!"

For an instant, Natsuki's eyes had gone blank, but her mind was a maelstrom.

_"Don't do it, Natsuki! You can't fight here!! NATSUKI!!"  
But it's so easy... it's almost like opening a book..._

"TIMOTHY, BEHIND YOU!!"  
My friends... my family...

"Let me go, you bastards! Stop it! I SAID STOP IT!!"  
I had to protect them... somehow...

"Gaaaahhhh--!"  
But everything went wrong...

"You killed everyone using that monster!!"  
How can I know how to control it if I can't remember...

"My sister... give me back my sister!"  
It's my fault...

"I HATE YOU!!"

A coward...

"Yes... that's right, I am a coward!" Natsuki's brow scrunched in anger and sorrow, her eyes shining with fresh tears. "I didn't realize my own strength, and so I've been using others as scapegoats. I didn't want the responsibility of dealing with so much death. I'm a pitiful excuse of a human being, but... I just felt this rush of adrenalyne in me and I couldn't help myself! Couldn't help myself... couldn't help others..."

A strangled noise escaped Natsuki's throat and tears cascaded down her checks. Shizuru suddenly felt helpless before the Lamb. She didn't know what to do, what to say... so she released her and let Natsuki slide down to the ground. The blunette buried her face into her hands and let out an anguished wail. Given her emotional instability, Shizuru didn't know what to say without getting a rise out of the other girl.

"Natsuki, I-I'm--"

"Shut up! What do you know!?" Natsuki snarled between sobs. "When I came to, I was surrounded by rubble... _ghh_... I didn't know what happened or what I'd done, I didn't remember a damn thing! All I knew was that my hands could still feel what they'd done... screams, the stench of blood and smoke, the crushing of bones, my own curses..." She jumped back to her feet, holding both fists in front of Shizuru's face. Her knuckles were almost white from how tightly her fists was clenched. "Look! Look at my hands! Can you hear the voices scream?! Can you understand what I'm feeling?! Knowing you destroyed your home with your bare hands, and not being able to do anything for the children left behind?! They have nothing now! Nowhere to go... I have nothing... nowhere... no one..."

_I didn't want to get in the Gear... I had no choice... there was no other way..._

Shizuru could only watch Natsuki collapse onto her knees and cry. A realization grew into her mind, and she walked into an open section of the forest. Nothing she could do or say could alleviate Natsuki's pain, especially since--

_She and I are the same... how can I go and say all that when I'm no different from her...?_

* * *

_"You talk as if it's not your responsibility!"_

Her head still ached from when her commanding officer slammed her to the wall and roared those words at her. The otherwise white chamber was painted with red splatters across the walls, floor, even on the ceiling. The stench of death was all around her, a bitter aftertaste vaguely of iron or copper in her mouth.

"No... I didn't do anything..."

_"They died because you had to pilot the Gear and start fighting!"_

She fell to the cold floor and tried to ignore the throbbing in her right arm. If she removed her jacket, she could see the ugly purple bruise on the inside of her elbow, right where she took the injection. That's right. It was the drugs that did this, not her. So why did everyone have to look at her with fear and disgust in their eyes, as if she committed these atrocities on purpose?

"It wasn't me, can't you understand?"

_"Not just anyone can pilot those machines, you know!"_

It was the drugs, the Drive, it wasn't her fault, so why was everyone so pissed?! She wasn't the type of person to do this; she was strong, but she didn't have half the physical strength to do half of what happened here. No normal person would completley rip a person's jaw clean off their face, let alone have a bite force strong enough to both puncture someone's jugular vein and break their neck at the same time.

"I didn't do it!"

_"Why don't you take some responsibility!?"_

Because she took a drug that caused this sort of thing, goddamn it! Keep telling yourself that, something in the back of her mind said, keep telling yourself that until you're forced to believe that you didn't spill all this blood, that it's not your fault your bloodstained hands can still feel them screaming for mercy.

"I'm not so strong."

"Why are you trying to put the blame on others?"

She only just enlisted, she wasn't ready for taking responsibility. Not for this. That's why she took the Drive, so she could show everyone just what she was capable of. They knew the side-effects, so there should have been no problem. It's not like she could kill so many people on her own... right? That's why everyone should understand, right? That's why it wasn't her fault, right?!

_"You're a coward!"_

* * *

"That's right..." Shizuru clenched her jaw. "I am a coward."

She still hadn't gotten over that incident. When she was still a new recruit, some of the other soldiers, the ones who talked big but hadn't seen that much action, felt that she wasn't meant for this line of work. What she needed to do was toughen up, they said. They were all training to become what the drill instructors called "ministers of death praying for war," so where was the harm in trying out a drug that supposedly turned them into just that? So she took a fresh syringe and a dose of the drug, and after a little goading from her fellow recruits, injected it.

The Drive was a stimulant of sorts. It enhanced aggression and physical strength in small doses, but heavy dosages could have disastrous results. Overdosing would turn a normally nice, soft-spoken person into a nonverbal rabid dog without a shred of human thought. The dosage Shizuru took wasn't enough to warrant urgent restraints or medical attention, but no one expected the results. Twelve people were killed, four wounded. Once the survivors were coherent enough to speak, they expressed an irrational fear of one Private Fujino.

"She's crazy," they said as they regarded her with cold-blooded terror. "She's a monster."

Even the recruits who talked her into it were scared to death of her.

Shizuru had lived a relatively sheltered life up until that point, and the weight of all that death at her hands was almost too much to bear. She didn't want any part of the blame. If anything was to blame, blame the Drive. Or better yet, blame the cocky little pissants who pressured her into taking the Drive in the first place. Shizuru's superiors wouldn't hear it, and demanded that she take responsibility for the incident instead of running away with her tail between her legs. Running away from the fact that she did, in reality, become a monster made her a coward.

"Hey, it's the red-eyed monster," she heard someone telling a new batch of recruits. "She ODed on a lethal drug and slaughtered a dozen people. Don't get too close or she'll bite your head off."

She wouldn't be at all surprised if they added her to the list of stories the higher-ups told the newbies just to shake them up. She hated those stories, mostly because they always got exaggerated depending on who was telling them. Regardless, it didn't change the facts. She became a monster, and she was a coward because she refused to accept it. Just like Natsuki Kuga...

Shizuru was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the massive beast stalking her from its hiding spot in the vegetation.

* * *

Natsuki's head jerked up when she heard a roar nearby, followed by a scream. She flipped her head around in search of Shizuru. _Where did she--?_ She spotted prints on the ground left behind by Shizuru's boots, and they lead in the direction the roar had come from. _Damn it! Shizuru!!_

A sudden desire to look out for the soldier's well-being overtook her, and Natsuki broke into a run. For whatever reason, the idea of her companion being in danger sparked something inside her, she didn't know what, but she was too worried to figure out why her hands went cold all of a sudden. Charging into an open section, she discovered Shizuru being cornered by what looked like an oversized iguana about twice her height, ready to turn the brunette into a mid-morning snack. She doubted a gun would be enough to stop that thing.

"Shizuru!" she yelled, catching the soldier's attention as well as the Rankar's.

"Natsuki, get out of here!" Shizuru yelled back. There was a tingling sensation in her palms, though she didn't have the time to figure out why. Besides, the Rankar definitely looked like it wasn't about to lose its prey. The beast growled, baring six-inch long teeth, and lunged at Shizuru. The lieutenant jumped out of its way, tumbling into the ground just as the Rankar rammed itself into the rock structure where Shizuru was standing just seconds before.

Natsuki ran to Shizuru's side, the icy feeling in her hands increasing to the point where the cold began to burn her skin. "You okay!?" she half-shouted, kneeling before the brunette.

"I'm alright, I'm fine!" Shizuru replied, fumbling with the holstered gun at her waist. She cursed under her breath; of all the times her hands had to go numb on her for no apparent reason, it had to be during a giant lizard attack. Fantastic. The giant lizard in question had just recovered from the effects of Shizuru's evasive maneuvre and began to stomp towards the two. By now, Shizuru's hands were so numb she could almost hear a strange buzzing in her ears.

"Shit," Natsuki swore. "What do we do now?"

"I'll distract it," Shizuru replied. "You can go on ahead, I will catch up with you later."

"No way!" the blunette snapped. "I'm not leaving you behind! I won't allow anyone else to die because of me!"

"Natsuki, this is not the time to argue! Get out of here!"

"NO!"

Just when the Rankar was right above them, Natsuki grabbed Shizuru's wrist and suddenly felt like her hand just exploded. A sudden pain shot to her left side, just above her hip. She wouldn't be able to explain what just happened even if they weren't about to be eaten by a giant lizard; all she knew was there was a flash of light and her hands began to emit a blue aura. _What in the hell...?!_ The Rankar flinched away a few steps, blinded by the light. Much like what happened with the black Gear, Natsuki's mind shut off. She could only watch as her hands, as if controlled by some outside force, came together and seemed to cradle the light forming between them. Once again her hands grew cold, but it felt oddly comforting, like she was being reunited with a part of herself long gone. The light began to take shape, forming itself into something like... a gun? Her hands encircled the light and felt a distinct weight in her palms. In an instant, the light vanished, and in her hands was indeed a gun, the likes of which Natsuki had never seen before.

The grip fit perfectly in her hands, as if it was made just for her, but the body was somewhat bulky for a gun that could be held in one hand. Something was engraved on the barrel, and she looked it over to read it. "Yatsufusa." Natsuki was dumbfounded enough by a gun materializing in her hands, even more so when she looked over and found Shizuru grasping a crimson glaive she was sure the brunette didn't have until now.

_What the hell is going on!?_

* * *

**Glossary/The More You Know!:**

_Krav Maga:_ As stated at the top, this is an eclectic hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel. Unlike most martial arts, Krav Maga is essentially a tactical defense skill that emphasizes threat neutralization, simultaneous defensive and offensive maneuvers, and aggressive endurance in a 'him-or-me' context. There are several organizations teaching variations of Krav Maga internationally.

_Drive:_ A drug occasionally used by some characters in Xenogears, including Elhaym van Houten. Think of it as the game's answer to steroids, only not quite as... y'know. Side-effects may include: dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, water retention, painful rectal itch, hallucination, dementia, psychosis, coma, death, and halitosis. Drive is not for everyone. Consult your doctor before use. (I'm only kidding here.)

_Yatsufusa:_ A figure from the epic novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden by Kyokutei Bakin. In the novel, Lord Satomi jokingly promises his daughter Fuse's hand in marriage to a dog, Yatsufusa, if the animal can defeat his enemy, Lord Anzai. To his surprise, Yatsufusa returns with Lord Anzai's head. Lord Satomi does not wish to fulfill his promise to Yatsufusa, but Fuse leaves with the dog anyway. Anyone who's read Natsuki's Prelude will probably see a connection between the names Yatsufusa and Yafusa (Duran's real name).

_Natsuki's Element:_ HA! See, I told you I'd add some HiME elements in here! Anyway, Natsuki's pea shooters have gone through a serious upgrade as shown in the last scene. Instead of those tiny little things with the round body, her Element here has, shall I say "evolved" somewhat. Here they should vaguely resemble the Las Pistol from Warhammer 40,000. I'd imagine they also make that cool "pew-pew-pew!" noise the Plasma Rifles make in the Halo games.

_Shizuru's Element:_ Not much change so far (I wanna monkey around with this one a little more), but in the next chapter I plan on having the length of Shizuru's glaive change length, kind of like the Power Pole in Dragon Ball. So depending on the situation, she could use it as a polearm or a short sword. Also, I refuse to call her Element a nagitana because it's totally not a nagitana. Compare pictures of glaives and nagitanas and you'll see my point.

Yes, I'm giving the Elements upgrades in this story. So sue me. [/sarcasm]

**OMAKE (anyone who gets the Eddie Izzard joke gets a cookie)**

**Natsuki:** Alright, where's that good-for-nothing Author at? 'Cause that last reviewer posed a good point; all she's doing so far is replacing Fei, Elly, Citan, and Yui with us.  
**Shizuru:** I don't recall Elly ever knowing Krav Maga in the game, though.  
**Midori:** And I definitely don't remember that last scene occurring in-game.  
**Yohko:** I think the Author's busy playing Persona 3 FES right now. Besides, that sort of fanfic has been done before, only with Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Twilight.  
**Natsuki:** [_Twitches at the mention of Twilight._] Glittery... vampires...  
**Shizuru:** [_Sighs._] Alucard-han would be insulted...  
**Midori:** Wait a sec, there's a sticky note here... it's from the Author. It says, "I know what's going on and I have it all figured out. Step one: Make the first ever Mai-HiME/Xenogears crossover. Step three: Beat the game in fic format and go to sleep." [_Blinks._] Uh... there's only one detail missing...  
**Yohko:** Either she's forgotten how to count, or she's just referencing a WoW Draenai joke to make excuses.  
**Natsuki:** Lemme check. [_Shouts._] YO, AUTHOR, COUNT TO TEN IN GERMAN!

[_A rock is hurled into the room with another sticky note attached._]

**Shizuru:** [_Reads the note._] "Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, nun, zehn!"  
**Natsuki:** Okay... [_Shouts again._] COUNT DOWN FROM SEVEN IN FRENCH!

[_Another rock is thrown into the room._]

**Shizuru:** [_Reads the next note._] "Ahh, shit."


End file.
